Fan Casting Vice President Peter Benton in David Hayter's Iron Man

An old-line conservative brought in to balance the ticket, Benton has spent his career waiting for power that never arrived. When Howard Stark and Justin Hammer offer him the presidency through assassination, he does not recoil. He weighs the offer with the quiet hunger of a decent man discovering he is not decent enough. Benton's world-weary humanity makes the betrayal tragic rather than villainous. His quiet acquiescence is the film's darkest political statement: the conspiracy requires not just fanatics, but ordinary men who know better and do nothing.